Since 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous has helped millions of alcoholics to find and maintain productive and fullfilling lives free from alcohol. AA is without question, the greatest support group in the world and is available almost anywhere at no cost. It works!
Sober in aa fifteen years. Family got son and brother got back, friends got
a friend back. I found peace and friendships and a happy life. AA is there
if you need it. Otherwise – please go and enjoy life for your own sake.
stupid video thumbs down
Ha ha haaaaa haaaaaa. I think I just threw up in my mouth. Believe what you
want. Have a nice day
No this bloke is lying. He knows how very few people are sober for a long
time in AA if he goes there. If you actually go to aa you will hear it be
spoken reguarly that very few people are still sober over long time
periods. I’m getting onto the verge of leaving the organistaion as i fell
the program makes so many promises that just don’t deliver in real life.
For well over 2 years i have been blaming myself for not having the
promises of step nine which are very specific i have been trying
increasingly militant and rigid ways of getting there and the last sponsor
i had gave me an absolutely massive amends list for tiny little petty
things in the past and those PROMISES still did not materialise when i
really worked very very hard for them. My first sponsor i had when i was at
the most vulnerable and desperate point in my life he told me therapy and
professional help start people drinking again. When i look at alot of the
stuff in my past i am finally at a point after doing huge amounts of step
work over and over again because that is what i was taught how to deal with
it that i do in fact need professional help and know amount of writing
lists of character defects and my part and making amends will be able to
heal these wounds. This bloke is kind of right many people go to aa and
just do not try but many people go to aa and try very very hard and do not
get the results promised and then get told it is there fault cause the
program is absolutley perfect. There are some sound minded people there but
also very dogmatic crackpots who think there is no problem there isn’t a
slogan on the wall or a quote from the big book cannot deal with. Many
people with alcohol problems often have very complex issues and have seen
severe trauma that a prayer, moral inventory, more prayer and some amends
followed by quoting the big book at a newcomer and trying to control him
wont deal with. Some people in aa are able to recognise this but many
others are not, what type of people sponsor you when you first come into aa
really has little more to do with luck as it is a time in your life when
you are very desperate, vulnerable, confused and impressionable and the aa
tradition structure does very little to stop people with dangerous ideas
fill the newcomers head with dangerous ideas.
total rubbish. i don’t know why you bothered.
I Notice how in your scenario you talk of the individual crawling back to
AA after failing. Well us “Haters “as you call us to discredit the points
we make, notice these type of “AA is the only way messages”. You make it
quite clear that the person is bound to fail without AA. Fundamentalist
comes to mind. But hey AA literature quite heavily promotes this :
“None of us in Alcoholics Anonymous is normal. Our abnormality compels us
to go to AA… We all go because we need to. Because the alternative is
drastic, either A.A. or death.” Delirium Tremens, page 27. It’s Alcoholics
Anonymous — or else! The A.A. Big Book,page 378.
Unless each A.A. member follows to the best of his ability our suggested
Twelve Steps to recovery, he almost certainly signs his own death warrant.
His drunkenness and dissolution are not penalties inflicted by people in
authority; they result from his personal disobedience to spiritual
principles [Bill Wilson’s principles]. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
William G. Wilson, page 174.
That’s for all you AAers who say AA does not teach that “AA it’s the only
way” ! Its in your book!
An irrefutable fact is: MOST PEOPLE LEAVE WITH IN THE FIRST YEAR AND DONT
COME BACK. It does not matter how you dress it up or what mental gymnastics
you wanna pull. Few stay most go!
Most people quit drinking on their own, spontaneous remission is 5 % a
year of a give population. Jails institutions or death are not their
destiny. People make choices and take responsibility for their life.
The thing is, quickcap, all those AA haters are absolutely correct about
the 100% deficits, etc. In other words, they alone think that just because
they didn’t find it effective – well,, that’s good enough reason to squeal
about the 95-100% failure rate. They are just that arrogant as to believe
and tell other’s that essentially, it is THEY who constitute the
100%….not anything else….How do we argue with that? Well, you can’t –
and also due to the fact …you can’t fix terminal stupidity!
Fifteenth of April is my answer to both questions, 1989 was the year!!
I’m not so sure if it works!!?? And to answer Jane below, my dick has been
holstered ever since and of course complainers will make a lot of noise,
while the sobriety junkie is doing to well to warrant a visit here, I’m
here because I came across Bill W.s. biography on James Garner’s Wiki page,
some great bits in the film!! And I might just say, my brain hasn’t even
been rinsed!!
AA is for idiots
I came in to get laid but the bitches the same drunk or sober. This guy’s a
smug geezer like all the rest of them. They know absolutely nothing
AA Kiss My Ass
AA is a complete fail.
Quickcap, you’re awesome. I have 2 years of contented sobriety. Very honest
youtube video. Please spread more truth.
There is just about no sense in considering any success rates in AA or
anyplace else really. Since the whole thrust here seems to be picking
apart AA why not just look at things in common sense terms? It’s really
simple actually. How in hell do you figure in the hordes that come through
AA’s doors that quite typically just come and go, have the proverbial “cup
of coffee”? In other words, there are distinctly different types/groups,
whatever you want to call them.. that go through AA .. Those that come and
go as previously mentioned, then those who may be in a spot of trouble and
trying to just get some heat off, those who are court mandated, and then,
we may have those who are seriously getting to a point where they know they
need to do something who as we know, even then, may have some ups and
downs. To those who actually sincerely work those steps and listen to good
sound advice..and you know, the way AA was set up for in the first
place..where it is all about one alcoholic staying sober by helping
another, and vice versa?
We simply cannot fairly set any base lines or models of recovery and
compare them with AA. AA gets so many coming and going all the time that
really could care less about actually abstaining or doing the program
suggested who are very likely the biggest factor in any stupid low or even
nil success rates. No place, even rehabs or other approaches can possibly
be objectively or accurately compared then deemed more effective than 12
step programs because of the enormity of those who do this coming and going
etc., at AA.
I’m no mental giant when it comes to statistical analysis or math in
general really but it doesn’t take too many smarts to realize the
difference between those going to AA & actually working the program to that
of the most of them who come and go, never having really worked the thing.
To say AA has a zero success rate could really be close to the truth,
couldn’t it? Where in the hell do these people get that AA doesn’t work
for just about 100% of it’s people when they likely didn’t work it.
TO SAY AA DOESN’T WORK FOR MOST IN THIS RESPECT IS TO SAY FOR INSTANCE, HOW
100 PEOPLE WENT TO TRY OUT A CAR ON A SALES LOT, ONLY ONE OR TWO ACTUALLY
DROVE IT & BOUGHT IT, 98 DID NOT DRIVE THE CAR, & THEN THE 98 ALL WENT HOME
SAYING THEY DIDN’T LIKE HOW IT DROVE AND RODE, ETC. How about we say we
had 1500 individuals out there where.. out of that there were 1000 who just
passed through, never took the program of AA seriously..then we had those
who were just going to get the heat off for a spell or were court ordered,
perhaps actually in enough trouble to begin thinking they really did need
to go get some help..but still hadn’t realized nor intended to entirely
quit the drink, etc… lets say that comprised around 450 people. In having
only about 50 folks who actually went through the program only gives us
around a 3% success rate, and that could even be an overly optimistic stat.
The fellowship of AA has always held that their approach is for the “real”
alcoholic, not the “problem” drinkers or those who may be in a jam because
of something that happened involving the booze..We can argue that point out
all day, the truth is that there is indeed that category of the real
alcoholic, etc…Problem is, too many think it pertains to them..which by
the way, isn’t what AA tells them, it’s something more like what the person
needs to tell, ask, or know about themselves.
Literally, it could be likened to the terminally ill aides patient..who
upon finding there is some medication out there that promised to save
his/her life which had not been approved by the FDA, etc..but was willing
to do whatever it would take to save their life…versus those who simply
were not terminal, who’d say to you, hell no, I ain’t going to try some
damn ‘potient’ without it’s being given the go-ahead..
Seems if we had a way of tracking any AA groups “core” or where the ones
who have actually worked through the entire thing & who tend to hang in
there .. that would be a far more fair and accurate “success rate” to go
by. First, how do we accurately calculate those who are on the ‘con AA’
side who didn’t even make it through the 12 step thing before deeming it
all bullshit? I really don’t think this is simply “loading the deck” in our
favor at AA. It’s just a matter of playing things all the way through is
where we truly find any accuracy in success. We cannot just include all of
those who just “drove by” and looked, or ‘sampled’ AA. This addiction
stuff is tough to overcome..and AA is really not in any categories as
though they are ‘competing’ with everything as though we were salespersons
working the “foot in the door” technique, whatsoever. Any research regimen
or assessment should require some degree of completion before any
conclusions are drawn. Duh! I firmly believe there are many out there who
beat up on AA who saw something that fit the tired old stigma surrounding
AA in one or two groups, then went on to assume the entire program was a
wash. What’s wrong with that picture?
No, you don’t go to AA and “test drive” the first step then decide it’s no
go.. When one gets working the thing is where most any get the idea of how
things work, and more importantly, what it can do for you.
This belief evolved many years ago when it was believed that you were not
successful if you did not completely stop after your first meeting. Almost
everyone in AA has at least one relapse. I know hundreds of people in
recovery. Some for one day, and some for 46 yrs. I don’t know anyone who
didn’t relapse after their first attempt at stopping.
Alcoholics Anonymous has probably driven more people back to drinking, than
it has help stop drinking. I am sure TWERP aka tom perkins has left people
running from an AA meeting and heading to the nearest bar or liquor store.
all I know is that if you are not religious the 12 step religious program
doesn’t work for you as most of them are religious steps lol, common sense.
I did the secular steps but then I realized that I didn’t want to put my AA
meetings as my higher power because the meetings weren’t up to my standards
and I decided to put myself as my higher power. only I had the power to
change my thinking patterns and rely on myself to put forth the effort to
change my views of wanting to do drugs or not. but I didn’t really do the
12 steps until I was 3 1/2 years clean already I did it once and then
realized I did nothing for me personally. I went to a few meetings but
realized within those 3 meetings that I was told that the program didn’t
fit me as I didn’t believe in a god and the opening meeting part was all
about god ( the sobriety prayer and the way of the AA book as well as most
of the 12 steps, the program itself). I also realized that im now 4 years
clean and I didn’t need the program nor did I need a sponsor ( never even
looked into getting one). I didn’t follow anything in the AA book as it
said from the beginning that somebody who doesn’t believe in god wouldn’t
couldn’t get clean and sober. when I first had picked up that book I was
already 3 1/2 years clean…. as far as the entire program itself, it
works for some and it doesn’t for others. but I don’t think its necessary
and or mandatory to live a clean and sober lifestyle. I no longer have any
temptations or anything of that nature. so take this AA/NA program with a
grain of salt.
GOD LOVE YOU!!!! AND WE LOVE YOU TO !!!!!
I have been around A A for 35 years and sober since 1996 and I never once
heard of this Mish a gosh survey.
People relapse constantly
Today over 25 years sober, I am not powerless over alcohol. As long as I
stay away from that first drink I have power. It is after I have the first
drink that I become powerless. I have no control over how many more I will
have.
I have been a member of my home group for over 25 years and have never seen
a survey in that time.
Great video.
95+/-% of those that try AA and eventually leave AA are those that do not
return to AA. There are no actual stats on those that stay sober but do not
return to AA. Stats like these are hard to assemble, because you have to
attend AA meetings to take the survey.
For anyone who has never tried AA yet did you hear this guy call anyone who
doesn’t like AA “haters”? Why do AA members make fun of others who don’t
go to AA? Now to address the video maker, if he is still around: “The AA
Haters” you call them. Why the name-calling? Why the bashing towards
those who dislike AA? Why must everyone like AA just because you do? Then
you bash statistics which is not surprising since AA doesn’t use any data
or statistics, which is weird because AA claims it works without evidence
it works. And if someone says it doesn’t work, they are simply accused of
not working the program correctly. Then Chapter 5 is mentioned, and the
person who tries AA and fails is told they were being dishonest. They were
unwilling. That is name-calling and far from helpful from an organization,
and members, who claim to want to help. But when it comes to offering any
kind of help other than AA they just wave people goodbye and tell them
without AA it’s “jails, institutions, death.” Again, is that helpful or
honest? When NIAAA published the NESARC data showing that within 20 years
of onset from alcoholism 75% recover WITHOUT any 12 Step program? Why the
lies of omission from AA and the withholding of facts? I am dismayed that
AA is a dishonest program. Your criticism of facts despite the fact these
facts are from experts and scientists is absurd. When you are presented
with information contrary to AA’s teachings your first thought is to make
fun of it and call the facts lies. Why do you feel the need to do that?
Is it cognitive dissonance? A refusal to accept new information that
contradicts what AA taught you? Is saying AA fails 95-100% as insane to
you as being told “Rarely have we seen a person fail…” which makes it
sound like, in Chapter 5 of the Big Book, that AA works about 95-100% of
the time? In actuality this 95% is quoted by Dr. Lance Dodes as recently
as 2014. This rate is in keeping with the 5% success rate early on that is
achievable through natural remission rates. AA’s rate therefore is just as
good as not having AA at all, and in 20 years, it’s 75% for those who never
set foot in AA. My own rehab said (it was a 12 Step rehab) only 1 in 6
would make it. 1 in 6!! They know the failure rate is horrible and yet
still want people to go to AA meetings.
Three false claims of AA
1) Alcoholism is a ‘spiritual malady’
2) You’re powerless over it.
3) AA has the solution.